At least 13 people have died after a boat carrying holidaymakers capsized off the coast of Makassar. Dozens of other passengers have been rushed to hospital with varying degrees of injuries.
Another dozen or so passengers are unaccounted for, according to local authorities, and they are feared to be missing at sea.
The tourists were travelling on a traditional wooden longboat from the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, when disaster struck on the short journey to the resort island of Barrang Lompo, some 15kms northwest of the city’s coast.
“The boat reportedly hit a large wave amid bad weather and capsized,” local disaster agency head Amiruddin said.
Meanwhile, Makassar police chief Aris Bachtiar said the boat was overloaded, adding: “We are still investigating.”
The longboat was believed to carrying at least 43 people and the passengers are thought to be Barrang Lompo natives who were travelling home from Makssar to visit their families for the Islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr.
The news comes as disaster also truck off the coast of South Sumatra when a speedboat carrying 30 passengers sank killing at least two.
Authorities including the Indonesia search and rescue agency, police, and military deployed speed boats and dozens of personnel to search for survivors.
Toto Mulyono of the Palembang search and rescue office in South Sumatra dealing with the speedboat said: ”We still don’t have clarity on how many survived as the search is still ongoing.”
Source: Express
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